After exercising, the first thing that comes to mind is not “I wonder if this is exercise-related muscular soreness or pain?” But for safe, injury-free exercise, it’s important to be aware of the difference. Sore calves after a strenuous uphill hike is healthy and expected. Sharp pain in the knees is not, and may be a sign of an injury.
We all have an activity threshold. This threshold is determined by things like age, baseline strength, how often we exercise and at what level. In order to see physical results, we need to gradually increase that threshold. If we stay on the safe side of our threshold, we experience muscle soreness. If we push too far over the threshold, we experience pain.
So how do you tell the difference between muscle soreness and pain?
Muscle soreness starts during exercise or 24-72 hours afterwards, lasts 2-3 days, and improves with stretching and movement, but gets worse when sitting still. Muscles might feel achy, tender to the touch, or a little tight when not moving around, and there might be some burning and fatigue when exercising.
Pain can occur during exercise or within 24 hours of the activity, in the muscles or joints. It is sharp, worsening with movement and continued exercise. Ice and rest may help briefly, but pain will return and may linger.
While you can return to exercising once soreness decreases, pain can indicate something more serious is wrong. Continuing to exercise when pain is present can cause or worsen an injury.
If pain is experienced, it is important to identify the cause and treat it.
Source:
Soreness vs. Pain: What’s the Difference? American Physical Therapy Association.
2017: http://www.moveforwardpt.com
Print
PDF
